Editors Note: This is NOT a paid political advertisement or endorsed by anyone other than the writer / author of this blog. On Monday, August 19th, Democratic Presidential candidate Julián Castro unveiled a platform focused on advancing the welfare of animals around the globe, both domestic and wildlife. It would raise standards for factory farms […]

They said it couldn’t happen. They said wild salmon would never breach penned-up fish farms. They were wrong. And that’s a big problem. On June 11, 2019, members from the ƛaʔuukʷiʔatḥ / Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation, including Tribal Parks Guardians and members of the Clayoquot Sound Indigenous Salmon Alliance, boarded and inspected open net pen […] […]

President Trump’s declaration of a national emergency has escalated tensions all across the southern border. The large majority of residents who live near the Mexican border don’t want the Wall built. Their reasons include fear of the government’s use of eminent domain, the high probability of flooding from a built wall, concern of escalating tensions […] […]

Just when you thought your food choices were clear and safe. UK firm The John Innes Centre has applied for permission to plant experimental genetically modified wheat and broccoli in open fields at their farm outside Norwich, in the United Kingdom. The research company hopes to begin two small-scale field trials in April. In 2017, […]

When you consider our nation’s health, the quality of our food, its decreasing nutritional value and the increased degradation of our farmland, it’s not a pretty picture — and the challenges related to these issues keep growing. By 2050 the world’s population will likely reach close to 9 billion people. To feed everyone, we’ll need […]

Thoughts of Ireland bring to mind green lush hills, fairies and leprechauns, sunshine and blue seas. But throughout this magical country there are few trees or forests.

The ancient wild forests that stood for 9,000 years were cleared long ago. Since the Norman invasions, Ireland’s wild forests cover only 0.02 percent of the country. But remnants of these legendary forests exist and, with help from some innovative Americans, they could be flourishing again in years to come.

The DNA from the last remaining aboriginal native sessile and common oaks around Ireland were taken by tree surgeons of the Archangel Ancient Tree Archive project in Michigan. The resulting saplings – oaks taken from the Brian Boru, a huge live oak over 1,000 years old in Raheen, near Scarriff, County Clare, from the King Oak tree in Offaly, and holly cut from the largest holly tree in Ireland (more than 8m in circumference), in Killarney – are direct descendants of the ancient Irish forests that flourished after the Ice Age.

Ireland’s famed Brian Boru tree

“We want to help Ireland reforest itself,” says Archangel Project co-founder David Milarch. “It’s imperative to reforest the planet, and it makes sense to use the oldest, most iconic trees that ever lived.”

The idea of forests again growing throughout Ireland is an exciting and even romantic idea. But the tangible benefits of these new growth forests to both wildlife and the people of Ireland – from soil erosion prevention to the growth of new habitat to the potential for carbon storage, will be huge.